Warm Spot
by EstiRose
Summary: Ziggy sometimes needs protecting, and Dillon sometimes needs to protect. Especially when his friend does something stupid.


_I finally wrote something that was a standalone one-shot instead of either part of a serial or a shaping-up-to-be-long multi-part fic. It's still Dillon and Ziggy focus because I seem to be best at them, or at least I think so. I wrote this as a friendship fic, mostly, though I'm aware that it could be considered to have overtones of slash._

**Warm Spot**  
**by Estirose**  
**c 2011**

Dillon technically had a room, as did Ziggy. That hadn't stopped him from practically moving into Ziggy's, because he slept most of the time in his car anyway, and he really only needed a place to put his clothes and change every so often.

Besides, he noticed the others tended to avoid the room once they realized that Dillon and Ziggy were sleeping together. Nobody seemed to want to chance walking in on two men having sex. Not that they were, but he found it useful for the others to think so.

He still didn't sleep much, so he had time to notice things like his bedmate shivering. Ziggy had been so out of sorts after the attack that Dillon was surprised that Doctor K hadn't hauled him in for an exam. Of course, Ziggy had pretty much disappeared into his room after they'd gotten back, so maybe their mentor hadn't noticed it.

Or maybe she hadn't bothered because Ziggy got battered and bruised so often that she left it to him to report things which he often didn't go to her about. A broken arm, he'd report, but not smaller things.

Whatever the reason, he was sure that there was something wrong. It could be that Ziggy was getting sick, but he had a bad feeling it wasn't. "Ziggy."

No response, so he shook his teammate. "Ziggy."

"Whazzup?" Ziggy asked groggily.

"I think you should see Doctor K. Something's wrong."

"Probably just the flu. I'll talk to her in the morning." Ziggy buried himself deeper in the covers. "Can't a guy get sick in peace?"

"If you tell her now, maybe she'll go easy on you for not telling her earlier. Because you looked off when we came back."

"Fine, fine," Ziggy grumbled. He got himself out of bed.

"I'll come with you." He wasn't sure if Ziggy would totally cooperate and tell Doctor K what was going on.

"I think I can get to Doctor K's lab on my own," Ziggy pointed out.

"Humor me." He helped his teammate out of bed.

"Fine." Ziggy wandered out the door, Dillon following close behind.

Thankfully, Doctor K was up, if still in her pajamas. "Yes?" she asked, clearly not thrilled about the interruption.

"Something's wrong with him."Dillon pointed at Ziggy.

"But it's just a cold. Or the flu. Nothing to worry about." Ziggy was smiling at Doctor K, who seemed unimpressed.

"Even if it is, you need to report it to me," she told him. "Get up on the chair."

Sighing, Ziggy did so. Dr. K ran a scanner over him, as she routinely did when one of them got hurt. Usually, it didn't beep, except when it came to Dillon's internal hardware.

As Doctor K ran it over Ziggy's lower legs, however, it did. She frowned, going to her computer and typing at it. Dillon tensed as she typed away, and Ziggy looked at her from the chair.

"Ranger Green," she said finally, "Are you aware that you have Venjix hardware attempting to colonize your left leg?"

He saw Ziggy gulp at that. "Now I do," his teammate squeaked.

"How?" he demanded, crossing to her. His hardware, and the virus attempting to take him over, gave him enough grief. He was stronger than everyone, but he wouldn't wish the cost on anyone, especially after finding himself on the ground twice with no memory of what had happened.

"I don't know, Ranger Black." She crossed to Ziggy, moving his leg. "Ranger Green, do you remember how this injury occurred?"

Dillon could see a nasty cut on Ziggy's leg and wondered how in the hell Ziggy had ignored it.

"I remember pain there just before I morphed, but I checked it over, and it was healing okay, so."

She sighed. "This is why you need to report such injuries. What if Ranger Black hadn't noticed your distress?"

"I guess I would have been in trouble," Ziggy replied, his usual bravado gone with the prospect of being turned into a hybrid.

"That," she said, "Would have been an understatement." She stood there for a moment before adding, "I'm sending you to military medical to have it dug out of your leg."

"So, it's not too bad?" Ziggy asked, and Dillon wondered if having strange things dug out of him was normal for Ziggy.

"This is a piece of Venjix hardware, not a bullet," she snapped. "Furthermore, it may be a deliberate plan to infect unsuspecting residents with self-generating Venjix hardware. Yes, it is bad." She returned to her computer. "I'll analyze it more after it's removed from you. The only good thing about this delay is that it will be easier to remove the hardware intact."

"I guess this is a bit more complicated than getting something stuck behind my eyelid? Because that really, really hurt for being this teeny, tiny piece of road-"

Doctor K was playing the attack footage over. "It appears that it did not arrive in a populated area, so if it was designed to infect humans, the only ones I need to check are you Ranger Operators. Even those with hardware in their systems."

"Great." Dillon shoved his hands in his pockets. He wasn't fond of Doctor K's poking and prodding, and it looked like he was up for more of it. But it wasn't Ziggy's fault, except being unlucky.

The medics arrived half an hour later, enough time for Dillon to pace a hole in the floor and Ziggy attempt to get up enough times that Doctor K threatened to activate the restraints.

After they wheeled Ziggy off, Doctor K still doing her analysis, Dillon found himself pacing again.

"Ranger Black," Doctor K said, "While this is a serious matter, I believe the doctors will be able to remove the hardware from Ranger Green's leg. Please stop pacing in my lab."

"Your lab is a great place to pace right now." He couldn't see himself relaxing.

"You seem particularly fond of doing so when Ranger Operator Series Green requires medical attention, but I assure you that I take great care to ensure the health of my Operators. I will do what I need to do in this situation. You do not need to occupy my lab while he is having surgery."

"Do you want to throw me out?" he asked, knowing she might be able to do so, but not without interrupting her research.

"I am hoping you depart voluntarily," she admitted. "I assure you, I will alert you when Ranger Green returns."

She would, he knew it, but he was where Ziggy would come back to, so he wanted to be there. "I want to stay anyway."

"Your guilt about Ranger Green's unexpected bonding with his morpher a while ago, while interesting when related to me by Ranger Yellow, is no excuse for interrupting me."

That was interesting. Summer had told Doctor K about what he'd told her about Ziggy?

Probably she was hoping to gain Ziggy some sympathy. Of the three original Rangers, she'd been the most accepting of Ziggy after the initial shock, and being the kind of person she was, she'd worked hard to make Ziggy accepted by everyone else.

And she'd taken them sleeping together with some amusement, handing him books one day on how relationships worked between men. Whether she knew it was a sham or genuinely thought he was dating Ziggy, he wasn't sure. He didn't really care as long as people left him alone.

"Ziggy and I are a team within a team." He wasn't going to go into the whole guilt thing. He'd long accepted that he'd been too late and Ziggy had chosen his path in life. All he could do is make sure that his friend was prepared for whatever Venjix threw at them. "We look out for each other."

Including looking out for moments where his friend failed to tell anyone about injuries.

"Your team spirit and wish for the well-being of Ranger Green aside," she said, "There is nothing you can do except await his return, which you can do in your shared room. In fact, I'm sure that, after his experience, he will be quite gratified that you raised the temperature of his bedsheets. He seems to lack a certain ability to deal with colder temperatures, particularly at night."

Dillon raised an eyebrow. He had to admit that she knew an impressive amount of things about people she barely talked to.

"I wish him to get some rest," she explained. "I'm suspending his training schedule for at least the next twelve hours, depending on how much recovery time he needs. I also need to schedule him for examination on regular intervals to monitor any growth of Venjix hardware that might have escaped our notice."

She'd been scanning him ever since that instance of the memory bot, and especially after that incident with the acceleration program. She'd probably do that with Ziggy, too, because she was that way. He still wasn't keen on playing guinea pig, but he had to admit that she was trying to help. In her own cold, detached manner.

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled," he said, sarcasm entering his voice.

"His enjoyment levels notwithstanding, I think it prudent, since he cannot seem to manage it on his own."

Dillon nodded. It made sense. "Yeah." He stopped pacing. "And I think I'll go upstairs now." He still wasn't happy with Doctor K over the whole virus thing, but she couldn't do anything about it, and at least she cared for Ziggy in her own way, if only as one of her instruments.

"Good. I will analyze what comes back, I promise you," Doctor K told him. "While Venjix usually does not attempt the same maneuver or attack twice, this will help us analyze and destroy this particular sector should it become necessary."

"I hope it doesn't," he said. He didn't want people to go through what he did, to lose control like he had.

But there was nothing to be done at the moment, so he went to the room and kept the bed warm. By the time Ziggy was sent back from treatment, the others were up, briefed, and summarily scanned by Doctor K.

"Just Ranger Operator Series Green," she announced, and he could see the relief in her face. "The rest of you are clear."

Then she left with Scott, to discuss how this whole thing affected the team, and then Ziggy was back with military escorts. As one of them went to report to Doctor K, Dillon stood up and went to check on his friend. Ziggy was smiling, despite having to be in pain and having come out of surgery, but then again, Ziggy was that way.

"How do you feel?" Summer asked him, before Dillon could say anything.

"Like I had a piece of Venjix hardware dug out of my leg," he said. He made it sound like such an ordinary thing. "I've actually never had anything dug out of me before, so… I guess I'm going to be in pain for a while, but that's okay."

Dillon was surprised; he'd assumed that Ziggy'd lived a dangerous life in the cartels, but he was gentle. Sheltered in a way.

"But you worked in a cartel…." Summer looked like she, too, was trying to wrap her mind around the concept.

"Yeah, pickpocketing, theft, and backing up Benny. Never got shot. Shot at, yes."

Dodging had always been Ziggy's strength, and it made sense.

"But the Doctor says you'll be okay." It wasn't a question. Ziggy had to be okay.

"Yeah. I'll recover in no time!" Ziggy's enthusiasm made Summer smile, if a bit sadly.

"I kept the bed warm for you," Dillon told Ziggy. "Since you're going to have to rest."

Ziggy smiled even wider, and Summer laughed. "You two," she said, with a gleam in her eye.

Doctor K came out with Scott, but nobody had a chance to say much of anything before she was whisking him in. Dillon came with him, hoping to hear what she'd say, and she let him.

"The hardware and virus seem to be removed from your system," she announced finally, to Dillon's relief, after she'd had him move Ziggy to the chair so that the military medic could leave with the stretcher. "I will run periodic scans to detect any recurrence, but I believe that we have detected it in time."

"Oh, good," Ziggy said, and looked like he was hoping to get out of there fast, before she said anything else.

"That being said, Ranger Operator Series Green, I must remind you again that you are supposed to report any injury to me," she said, arching her eyebrows. "You are extremely fortunate that Ranger Black did notice. I would dislike it immensely if I was forced to bring you in for scanning after every battle."

"Um, yeah, I kind of wouldn't find that very fun either," Ziggy assured her. "I promise, I'll remember to report these things next time. Really."

"And if he doesn't," Dillon said, "I am picking him up bodily and bringing him here."

"Yeah, and I kind of prefer the dignity of coming in on my own two feet," Ziggy said, eyeing him.

"Good," Doctor K said. "You're released for your recuperation. I'm logging you as off-duty until I can see that you're cleared."

"So, can we go now?" Dillon asked. Ziggy needed his rest, after all, even she had said so.

"I believe that's what I just said," she replied. Ziggy was sliding off the chair. Dillon caught him, making sure he wasn't putting pressure on his injured leg.

He helped Ziggy out, past the others, Ziggy reassuring Scott and Flynn that he'd be all right, but he wanted to go back to bed. It took some doing, but Dillon managed to haul him up the stairs to their bedroom, where he made sure Ziggy tucked himself in.

"Don't worry," Ziggy told him as he sat there. "I told Doc K that I'd report all my injuries, and I mean it."

"Don't cause me to worry," he said, though Ziggy caused him to worry every time the team went into battle, which was not his fault. But he could try to control the reaction, even though what he wanted to do was toss Ziggy out of the way and out of battle so he wouldn't get hurt. But he couldn't, because they needed Ziggy. The world needed Ziggy.

And what he could do to keep Ziggy safe, to keep the world safe, he would do.

"Okay," Ziggy said, and Dillon nodded. As his friend drifted off to sleep, he could only sit, watching. Protecting, even where it was safe. Because that's what Dillon did.


End file.
